The present invention relates to continuous and/or discontinuous three-component polymer fibers of the xe2x80x9csheath-corexe2x80x9d type, a process for the preparation thereof, and their use in the health, civil engineering sectors, and the like.
As is known, in the last years, the sector of synthetic fibers utilizable to make non-woven fabric has undergone a remarkable development. In particular, there have been recently developed the so-called xe2x80x9ctwo-componentxe2x80x9d fibers, which have the characteristic of being formed by the combination of two different polymers. These xe2x80x9ctwo-componentxe2x80x9d synthetic fibers are generally of the xe2x80x9csheath-corexe2x80x9d type, wherein a component represents the central nucleus or core, while the other one represents the external sheath, or of the xe2x80x9cside-by-sidexe2x80x9d type, wherein the two different components flank each other in the realization of the fibers.
The xe2x80x9ctwo-componentxe2x80x9d fibers of the above described type according to the prior art are utilized, for instance, for the production of non-woven fabric, which is employed, in its turn, in various fields, such as clothing, building, home furniture, and health. In particular, a field wherein non-woven fabric realized with synthetic xe2x80x9ctwo-componentxe2x80x9d fibers has a remarkable use is the health sector, for the production of napkins and products for incontinence. As is obvious, these products must satisfy some characteristics, such as the softness of the external layer in touch with the skin, the permeability of the external layer, the absorption capacity, the thickness of the external/internal layers and many other characteristics. Therefore, the fibers they are made from shall have specific characteristics of elasticity, softness, resistance, permeability, and be suitable for being worked with conventional machines.
Therefore, object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic fiber having chemical-physical characteristic that may be modulated according to the use which said fiber is intended for.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic fiber suitable for making a non-woven fabric having high characteristics of elasticity, fluid-permeability and softness.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic fiber having a specific weight that can be modulated according to the use which said fiber is intended for.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic fiber having variable and pre-determinable physical-mechanical characteristics.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic fiber that may be used either directly or through further processes for instance in the sectors of health, paper making, home furniture and civil and industrial engineering.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a synthetic fiber having high technical characteristics and that is advantageous from the economic point of view.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a process for making a synthetic fiber provided with the above characteristics.